A series of recent events has fuelled a hot debate over the transparency and credibility of climate research. While the debate between sceptics and believers may continue, the circumstances have provided good context for “citizen science”to spill over into climate research.

The concept is not a new one and already applied in astronomy & planetary science, archaeology and biodiversity studies. The idea is that volunteers participate in tasks where human perception and common sense are needed, without the time-consuming scientific training. So could the concept work in something as technical, multi-disciplinary and complex as Global Climate Change modelling?